The present invention relates generally to the field of information authentication, and more particularly to providing information to a service provider regarding a user requesting a service.
There are numerous services available to current day consumers, across a wide range of areas, such as financial, health-related, insurance, government organization, utilities, employers, and background checks, to name a few. Easy and convenient access to services is a highly desirable condition for most consumers as service requestors, but service providers typically require particular information regarding the service requestor, before services are delivered. Among other reasons, the need for the information may be to qualify the service requestor, confirm the service requestor's ability to pay for services rendered, clarify the most appropriate type of service, or establish authentication of the service requestor.
The information required by service providers includes documents that may verify identity, employer, income, address, as well as many other aspects of a service requestor's personal and/or private information. Availability to upload digital copies of information and digital documents to a service provider's web site or portal may greatly improve the delivery of information corresponding to service requestors, to service providers. However, the service requestor bears the burden to locate or create digital copies of documents and information, and perform the delivery actions to the service providers. The benefits of improved delivery of digitized information and documents are weighed against an increase in exposure to loss of privacy and security of personal information, and the challenge of service requestors to perform multiple manual actions to locate, obtain, transmit, and authenticate, information and physical copies of documents to provide the information required by service providers. Service requestors may store the physical copies of private and/or personal information for future service provider requirements, creating additional exposure.